1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of blinds for use in windows and more particularly to collapsible blinds for use in arch-shaped windows.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many buildings have windows that are arch shaped. Often it is desirable to prevent sunlight from directly entering the building through these arch windows. For these reasons, a number of blinds suitable for arch windows have been developed. Some designs such as are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,380 to Lester use venetian blinds. Venetian blinds have many slats making them relatively difficult to assemble, opaque and of distinctive appearance.
Simpler designs employ pleated material rather than venetian blind slats. Some pleated material designs use curved round rods such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,609,877 to Kendall. Other designs require that supports be affixed into the window structure. These supports can be a plurality of hooks as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,611 to Basset or a mounting block as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,436 to Schnebly.
Accordingly, there are a large variety of blinds or shades for windows in the marketplace, including both vertical and horizontal types. Their most common characteristic is that they are foldable and that they have a rectangular shape, when they are in an unfolded position.
Since also most conventional windows are rectangular in shape, no problem is encountered for this class of windows. There is, however, a better class of windows of higher finesse and elegance, which have at least one arched portion. This class of windows is generally referred to as arched windows. It becomes evident then, that the conventional blinds, having a rectangular shape, may not be used in conjunction with arched windows.
Although it might sound as a simple problem to solve, it certainly is not. Mere proof of this is the fact that the applicant has not been able to find such a blind available in the marketplace.
A number of attempts have been made, but apparently they have all failed to provide an effective solution, since none of these approaches has been accepted by the public, as the absence of commercially available blinds for arched windows evidences.
Representative references describing blinds for arched windows may be found in the patent literature as early as 1891, but after the first quarter of the 20th century, no substantial progress seems to have been made.
U.S. Pat. No. 451,068 to Lark, issued Apr. 28, 1891; U.S. Pat. No. 602,967 to Wells, issued Apr. 26, 1893; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,609,877 to Kendall, issued Dec. 7, 1926, disclose blinds for arched windows, which, however, are driven by cumbersome cord mechanisms acting o the outside circumference of the blind, and having serious disadvantages, such as for example the need for hiding these mechanisms within an extended portion of the blind, thus sacrificing useful window area, as well as decorative window aspects. Other serious disadvantages include, but are not limited to, the fact that the complicated cord mechanisms are liable to malfunction, to the fact that no effective way of maintaining the opening of the blind at any desired level is provided, and to the fact that blinds structured to be driven by cord mechanisms at their circumference are not easily controllable, and therefore flimsy in their operation.
There is a need for a simplified blind for arch windows that uses pleated blind material and does not have many visible support rods, support hooks, cords or other readily noticeable support structure. Preferably, the blind should have no support rods or support hooks. The blind should be low cost, reliable, easy to assemble and easy to operate. Preferably, the blind should be capable of remote operation such as through use of a pull cord.